GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Traffic began picking up late last Thursday as rush hour neared, and unbeknownst to most motorists, two pairs of eyes kept a close watch on the throngs of cars darting throughout greater Grand Rapids.

For 10 hours each day, workers at the Michigan Department of Transportation's West Michigan Transportation Operations Center keep a sharp lookout for traffic jams, crashes and the occasional disabled motorists alongside the freeway.

"Our priority is areas that are more congested," explained Suzette Peplinksi, a traffic, safety and operations engineer for MDOT.

To Peplinski's left, the feeds of 26 of traffic cameras situated along freeways and major thoroughfares in metro Grand Rapids were projected onto a wall in a neat rectangle.

In a small box to the right of the camera feeds was another set, which showed traffic ebb and flow along U.S. 31 in Grand Haven. Above that box sat another set of feeds showing MDOT cameras being tapped by Grand Rapids' TV news stations.

The vast "eye in the sky" network that helps MDOT keep tabs on traffic flow has burgeoned from what years ago was simply about a half dozen traffic cameras and a few dynamic message signs, or DMS.

The LED-lit boards, installed around Grand Rapids at strategic locations, can tell motorists approximate times to a given point, whether an accident lies ahead or provide others safety reminders such as anti-drunk driving messages.

It's a system Peplinski said has proved invaluable over the years. MDOT engineers are able to pinpoint an accident's location, as long as it's within the range of a camera, and assist local police in responding to the scene.

The engineers can give police an idea how many cars are involved, whether their response might be blocked or slowed by traffic and the like, Peplinski said.

The cameras and message boards also help police and city leaders plan for a large-scale event, such as fireworks downtown where traffic might get chaotic afterward.

MDOT is working on growing its West Michigan network by expanding into Ottawa County. The agency already operates a DMS board near Hudsonville, but is looking at the possibility of installing another in the Holland area.

"Once you get a whole system of infrastructure in place, then it all works together," Peplinski said.

"You have to have the signs to get information to people," she added, "but you have to have cameras to get the information."

The most noteworthy, non-freeway artery MDOT has focused traffic technology is 28th Street, which boasts tens of thousands of motorists daily.

Other bustling thoroughfares, though, are in the agency's crosshairs, including the bustling East Beltline Avenue that runs perpendicular to 28th Street.

"It may or may not be traffic cameras," Peplinski said of East Beltline, "but there might be some messaging that goes out there or other types of technology."